


Quiet Thoughts

by CrashDevil (cjdevlin19)



Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: Explicit Language, F/M, Multi, Oral Sex, Season 5A, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-05-08 03:12:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5481188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjdevlin19/pseuds/CrashDevil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*No bra.* Duke thought as he walked out of the bathroom. *Wonder if that's on purpose. Never moved on.*</p>
<p>"You've obviously never tried to put lace lingerie on over wet skin. I'm not commando to entice you. It's just practical." She responded.</p>
<p>"I bet you wish you had that back in high school." Duke said, leaning against the sideboard that the t.v. stood on.</p>
<p>"Probably would've been helpful. Could've heard your thoughts at Lisa Botkee's birthday party. Pretty sure that I never would've let you round 3rd if I could've heard your thoughts."</p>
<p>"You begged for 3rd. You, obviously, weren't happy with the pace of your relationship with Nate...****************</p>
<p>Callie Delaney grew up in Haven and ran as soon as she had the chance. Now, that her Trouble is too overwhelming to stay in the city, she's come home. She was sure she'd changed in the 22 years after graduation, but will she fall right back into her old ways? Set after Exposure, leading into and past Morbidity. It will eventually live up to its rating.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome Home

Duke sat in a chair, below deck of the Cape Rouge. He was sharing a drink with Mara, a new habit that he wished he could stop. "I think... you have a visitor." Mara said right before the bell on deck clanged. Duke set the bottle down and walked out of the room. Duke opened his door, ready to tell the intruder to scram, but he smiled involuntarily.

"Callie! You're back." * _Looks like she lost about 30 pounds since the reunion. She looks hot._ *

"I am...back. Are you... you have a woman on your boat. I can come back later." The woman with the strawberry colored hair said.

"Coming back later wouldn't help. She's a semi permanent fixture. So, the, uh, thing is back?" Duke was loathe to call what Callie had a Trouble because it had always been a good thing for her back in elementary school.

"It's a Trouble, Duke. Call it what it is." She said, leaning against the side of the Cape Rouge. "Yeah, it's back. I assume everyone else has theirs back, too."

"Yep. Nathan is nerve-dead, we're dealing with death and dismemberment pretty much on the daily. The guard is up and active... Are you..."

"Part of the Guard? Only because I'm a legacy. Don't worry." She said before turning her attention to the door he had just exited. "So, who's the semi permanent woman in your galley?

"Aha! She's in the hold."

"Not anymore. I'm getting blond, sadistic, otherworldly. She's wearing the face of someone you love."

"Your Trouble shouldn't work on her."

"It doesn't. I got sadistic and otherworldly from your mind. She, whoever she is, is a blob of darkness in there."

"She is... it's kinda complica-"

"Who's Mara?"

"It is a really long story, Cal."

"Then don't tell it to me. Remember it at me." Duke looked back toward the door, then at his old schoolmate. He sighed and sat down in one of the folding chairs he kept on deck. He took a deep, calming breath, and started going through his memories of the last few years, starting with Audrey, going through the Guard and the Crocker curse, the barn and Jennifer, finally ending with Mara.

Callie cleared her throat, a hand going to her head. "Duke. Are you... are you crazy? That is not Audrey. That is evil incarnate. You can't be serious about this. Drinking with the woman who caused the Troubles?"

"You don't get it, it's not like-"

"Duke, I have been on the hard side of unrequited love, remember? Pretending isn't gonna help you. She might look like Audrey or Audrey looks like her, whatever, but that is nothing like Audrey. And she's not the part of Audrey that liked you. I know you're worried, but I promise. That was all Audrey."

"Callie, you don't know what-"

"Do you remember Chuck?" Duke sucked in a sharp intake of breath. "Don't be miffed that I keep interrupting you, I just know what you're gonna say before you finish saying it. 'Yeah, of course, I remember Chuck. I did business with him for 5 years'."

"He was your fiance."

"I dated him for a year and a half. I broke off the engagement, Duke because I realized that just because he was a handsome, smooth-talking criminal, that didn't make him you. I don't say that to make you feel guilty, man, I say it to open your eyes. Mara is not Audrey, not by a long shot. Mara is manipulation in female form, evil with a smile, and now that smile is pointed at you. What do you think she wants from you? Aether? Her freedom? Probably both. She wriggles her way in, has a drink with you, a little 'quid pro quo Clarice' and suddenly, she's got you right where she-"

"Your concern is noted, Callie. Get off my boat." Duke said, standing and pointing toward the town.

Callie pulled away from the side of the Cape Rouge, her green eyes glistening with tears she wouldn't allow to fall. "Welcome home, right, Duke?" She said, stopping off the boat onto the dock.

"Cal-" Duke started, but she cut him off with a wave without glancing back.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Callie's next stop was the police station. Stan stopped her in the lobby and walked off when she said that she was there to see Nathan. She stood around for a few minutes before Nathan walked up. A blond followed him; Audrey Parker.

"Callie!" Nathan exclaimed, wrapping her in a hug that was a little too tight.

"Uh, Nathan?" Audrey questioned.

"Oh! Callie Delaney. This is Audrey Parker. Parker is my-"

"I know who she is. I stopped at the Cape Rouge first. Is there someplace we can talk?" Callie asked.

Nathan nodded, leading them back the way he and Audrey had come from. Once they were all in the office, he closed the door. "Callie has a telepathy Trouble. She probably knows all about you from Duke's thoughts. She also has a nasty habit of-"

"Interrupting people and/or finishing their sentences for them. Not trying to be rude, I just learned young that it's the most expedient way to communicate most of the time." Callie turned to Audrey. "I learned all about you from Duke's memories. I also know about Mara."

Audrey and Nathan exchanged looks. "What do you know abou-" Audrey started.

"You shouldn't leave her with Duke. She knows how he feels about you and she's using it. She's playing on it."

"Well, we don't have anywhere else to take her. The Guard will ex-" Nathan whispered.

"Execute her and you don't wanna get rid of the asset that is her immunity to the Troubles. I understand, but Duke is fraternizing with her. Drinking, talking, giving her insight into him that she is going to use to secure her escape or her aether or worse. I tried..." Callie took a deep breath to steady herself. "I tried to talk to Duke. I tried to make him see that she was using her face to play on his love of Audrey but... he kicked me off the boat. I mean, it's been quite a while since Duke had to kick me off his property, got some flashbacks to Senior year, but... I'm more worried about him than I am upset. She's evil. I don't see how he'd make it out on top once she's done with him."

"Okay. I will go check on Duke and Mara, you and Audrey, stay here." Nathan said, pulling his truck keys off of his desk and walking out.

Audrey smiled, politely as she shut the door. "So." She turned to Callie. "You used to get kicked out of Duke's a lot?"

Callie blew a short chuckle out of her nose. "Oh, yeah. It's a long story, but suffice it to say, I got caught in the crossfire of Duke and Nathan's little feud."

Audrey sat on the edge of her desk and looked at Callie, expectantly.

"Well, since you asked so nicely." Callie answered Audrey's unspoken plea. "Junior year, I started dating Nathan. I thought he was sweet, and he pretty much had a plan for life, ya know. And he wasn't fake. I was one of the first Troubles activated in '81, so I spent a big chunk of my childhood hearing the truth of people and it left me with some trust issues. Nathan was someone I trusted, the first guy I had trusted implicitly. Duke... just wanted to take what Nathan had. He didn't want Nathan to be miserable, I know, but he wanted a taste of Nathan's happiness. So, he spent weeks chatting me up, eventually seducing me away. As soon as he had me, he didn't want me anymore."

Callie looked down, but she could still hear Audrey's thoughts of pity. "I was in love with Duke. Even after he pushed me away, even after I knew I had given up a great guy for someone who didn't even want me, I pushed. I tried. I pleaded. I begged. There were a couple of occasions when Garland Wuornos had to come escort me home. There were a couple times when Duke had to physically remove me from the apartment he was squatting in. I got a reputation as a crazy ex-girlfriend pretty quick. Senior year, I had to be home-schooled to avoid the harassment. As soon as I graduated, I left Haven, moved to Bangor. I started dating a guy named Chuck. He reminded me of Duke. Turned out, they were associates." Callie sighed, deeply.

"You still love him, don't you?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm not you. You, Audrey Parker, are his ideal. Not me."

Audrey sighed. "I'm-"

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. Not by a long shot. My heart should've given up a long time."

Audrey put her hand on Callie's shoulder. "If you ever need to talk..."

"Thanks. I'll be okay. Promise." Callie stood up, smiled and grabbed her purse. "Listen, I'm gonna grab a motel room. It was nice meeting you."


	2. Who's desperate now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but a good one. Has that scene that's teased in the summary. Read and Review or leave Kudos for me. Thanks!

Callie got a motel room and immediately took a shower. She felt dirty. There was something grimy about Duke telling her to get off his boat. Something dirty about feeling like she was 17 years old again. She wrapped a towel around herself and walked out into the room.

"Before you drop that towel... you are not alone."

Callie could feel her body blush as she tightened her grip on her towel. She didn't turn to Duke. She had just finished cleaning off the grime from their last encounter, she didn't want more.

"You not talkin' to me?"

"You broke into my motel room, after kicking me off your boat. You came here when I am upset and physically vulnerable, and you question my hesitance to talk to you?"

"Look, I didn't want to admit you might be right. I know Mara is working me. I'm not stupid. And it's not like I'm letting her out or anything. She only made it to the galley 'cause I accidentally left the key when I jumped up to answer the bell. Mara has to be with me, though. There is nowhere else for her." Callie was silent. "Look, I'm gonna hit the head. You get some clothes on. Maybe you'll be able to look at me if you're wearing more than a towel."

Callie quickly threw a dress on her damp body, not bothering with under garments. She grabbed a comb and started pulling it through her hair as Duke washed his hands.

* _No bra_.* Duke thought as he walked out of the bathroom. * _Wonder if that's on purpose. Never moved on._ *

"You've obviously never tried to put lace lingerie on over wet skin. I'm not commando to entice you. It's just practical." She responded.

"I bet you wish you had that back in high school." Duke said, leaning against the sideboard that the t.v. stood on.

"Probably would've been helpful. Could've heard your thoughts at Lisa Botkee's birthday party. Pretty sure that I never would've let you round 3rd if I could've heard your thoughts."

"You begged for 3rd. You, obviously, weren't happy with the pace of your relationship with Nate. I was just-"

"You were not! You made me fall for you. You made me think there was something real, and you waited until I had ruined my shot with Nathan before you decided it was just 'fun'. I can't explain your relationship with Nathan. 'Frenemies' is the closest I can get, but me..." Callie threw her comb in her suitcase and clicked it closed. "I'm a grown woman, who has tried to put you behind me for more than 20 years. It just doesn't work. All those sweet words that you threw at me when I was Nathan's girl, they poisoned me."

* _Pretty when she's sad_.* Duke thought as he stared at her. Callie shook it away. It was better for her to pretend she hadn't heard that.

"So, I don't get to be friends with Nathan and I get to be thrown off your boat and subjected to thoughts about how I haven't moved on from you. My motive for every action questioned, when it comes to you. I didn't break into your boat, though, Duke, so, who's coming off desperate in this situation?"

* _Well, haven't been laid since Jennifer. Maybe I could-_ *

"Get out." Callie said, pointing at the door. Duke sighed and pushed away from the sideboard, the t.v. swaying in his absence. He stopped in front of her, his hands going to her damp shoulders. He brought his left hand to her chin and pushed her head back. He established eye contact and held it, no thoughts forming in his mind.

As Duke dipped his head down to brush his lips gently against hers, a clear thought pushed into her head, * _You'd never really say no. Even after all these years, you are all mine.*_ Duke smiled at her dumbfounded look, which turned into a smirk as he walked out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	3. Shush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callie searches for her place in Haven. Duke searches out a distraction.

Callie grabbed a copy of The Herald as she left the motel lobby, hoping to troll the Now Hiring list and the For Rent section. As she walked up to the cafe, she noticed a familiar face and walked up to a table. "Why, Mr. Teagues, you haven't aged a day."

Vince turned to her, placing a sketchbook on the table next to his tea. "Miss Delaney! Welcome home, young woman. Please, have a seat!"

Callie smiled, sitting across from the man. "I am not a young woman, anymore, Vince, but thank you for that."

"So, what brings you back to Haven, Callie?"

"Well, it's kinda hard to be a telepath in the big city. It's confusing; and painful, really. Loud. So, once I got to the point that I couldn't even leave my apartment, I resigned my job and got on a train." She whispered.

"Were you still with the NYPD?"

Callie sighed, and nodded. "I was."

"Well, have you considered transferring to the HPD? The new leader of the Guard is Dwight Hendrickson, also the new police chief. He'd be happy to help out a Guard legacy and he needs good cops."

"I don't know. I've been better since I've been in Haven, but I don't know if I can be a cop again with all this... in my head. Besides, NYPD is a lot different than HPD."

"Oh, pish-posh. HPD is the best place for you. If you can get past that nonsense with Nathan, you will be just fine."

"It's... there is no nonsense with Nathan. He has a great thing going with Audrey. He worked hard to get her back. He's butted heads to keep that love. Besides, he's not the one I'm gonna have... nonsense with."

"Ah. Duke Crocker."

"I had hoped that two decades would be enough for everyone to forget, but no. I will never live that down."

"Well, you did go a little nutso about him. But you're right, you shouldn't be judged by what you did a score ago."

"Thank you. Listen, I will go talk to Dwight, okay. Thank you, for steering me in the best direction, sir."

"Oh, please. You know you can call me 'Vince'."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Callie tried to not look at anyone as she walked up to the Chief's open door. She knocked lightly then stepped into the doorway. "Yes?" Dwight said, looking up from a file on his desk.

"Hi. I don't know if you remember me. We met a few years ago, when my mom died in that ice Trouble." She stepped into his office so that he could see her, fully. "I was about 50 pounds heavier. Callie. Callie Delaney. It was Officer Callie Delaney, then. Back when you weren't even a cop."

"Oh, yeah. Callie. You were the one with the mind-reading Trouble. You were going for Detective in the NYPD, right?"

"Yeah. I made it, actually. Might've cheated, used my Trouble to figure out the facts and secure confessions from people who thought I already had evidence of what they were thinking. I had the best closure rate of anyone in the department. I got a commendation from the top brass." Callie stepped up to Dwight's desk and sat in the chair stationed in front of it. "But we call them the Troubles for a reason. It got too loud in my head. I had to resign, flee the city before I went insane. Vince Teagues said you might have use for a Troubled mind-reader with an exceptional service record. Said you need good cops."

"I do. Listen, I've got a doctor from the CDC poking around Haven, and I have to deal with that, but I will call down to the NYPD, have them send your record up. If I like what I see, and I'm sure I will, I'll call you with a job offer."

"Well, my full name is Calidara Delaney, you'll probably need to know that. I'm staying at the Harborview, room 4. You can contact me there." Callie stood and shook the huge man's hand, before walking out of the office.

********************************************

Callie sat at a table in a dark corner of the Haven Public Library, having been there all day. She was flipping through a book about the native tribes of Maine, and being happy for the peace in her head, when the door opened. She tried to sink into the shadows as Duke's thoughts hit her. He looked around, then made a beeline for her table. "Figured you'd be here. Always with the books." He said, sitting in the chair next to her.

"What do you want, Duke?"

"I... you heard about the CDC lady?"

"She's pretty much all anybody's thinking about. Why do you think I'm here, pretty much alone, in the quiet library?"

"Well, I-I got sent away from my own damn restaurant. Not that I want to be around the CDC doc. I'm kind of a walking Trouble and I feel like that would probably get me put in a cage for the rest of my life. I don't want to go back home, either-"

"Mara's predictions hitting a little too close to home?"

"Yeah. You know stress isn't good for the Troubles. I gotta find something to distract myself, without going to the Gull where Dwight has Dr. Cross, or going home."

"So, you sought me out." Callie said, trying to look at the words in the book in front of her. "I don't think I can help you with that, Duke. I'm distracting myself with the written word. Since what I am reading is neither pornographic nor illegal, I expect you won't be too interested."

"Yeah, I'm all for enriching my mind through books, but I need a stronger distraction, right now." Duke said, reaching over and putting his hand on her knee. As Callie looked down at her knee, an image was pushed into her head. She couldn't help the heat that pooled between her legs at the image of Duke pushing her against the stacks, his mouth attacking her jaw, one of his hands down her pants and the other hand working the clasp of her bra.

"Don't do that." She whispered, slightly breathless.

Duke moved his left hand a little up her thigh. "Come on. You liked it." Callie's breath hitched as another thought forced itself into her mind. A perfect picture of her motel room, with her nude on the bed, toes curled, hands clenched in the sheets as Duke licked away at her womanhood. "See how much you'll like it?"

"Duke..." Callie cleared her throat, hoping to get rid of a bit of the arousal evident in her voice. "That's not fair." She was proud of how strong those words came out.

"Fair is relative. I think it's fair. You've wanted me for twenty years. Now, I want you."

Callie grabbed his hand and pulled it off of her thigh, another proud moment. "Yesterday, you threw me off your boat. Last night, you broke into my motel room. Today, you're trying to get me to... distract you. Exactly what did I do that caused this sudden flame of desire in you?"

"You didn't do anything. Flame's always been there."

Callie squinted at him, trying to hear his thoughts. There was nothing. "What do you mean? You kicked me out of your little squats dozens of times. You wouldn't give me the time of day after I dumped Nathan."

"That was more to do with Nathan than you. I couldn't date you. Nate and I, we've always had a weird friendship, but I couldn't date his ex. Even if I was the reason she left him."

"And what, now that he's got Audrey, you're gonna throw away your bro code?"

"Exactly. Look, you'll be saving me from the horrid witch in my hold. She is playing me, but I'm starting to fall for it, ya know?" His faux innocent voice pissed her off.

"So, what, you're gonna do exactly what I warned against if I don't sleep with you?"

"Won't be sleeping." Duke said, his voice low.

Callie hesitated. She didn't want to make the same mistake she'd made in high school. She closed her book and stood. "I'm going to take this book back to the shelf. I am going back to the Harborview. I want you to take a few minutes to meditate. I know that's how you can do those things with your mind that no one else can, you meditate. Visualize..." She shook her head. "If that flame is still there after you spend some zen time, you know which room is mine."

Callie didn't look at Duke as she rushed to the shelf and then out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The explicit stuff will start in the next chapter.


	4. Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Duke gets distracted. Explicit chapter!

Callie had time to enter her motel room, drop her purse and sit on the edge of her bed before the phone started to ring. She hung her head and reached across the bed to grab the old wired phone off it's cradle. "Delaney."

"Miss Delaney, glad I finally got a hold of you. It's Chief Hendrickson."

"Yes, sir! Sorry if you've been trying to reach out. Everyone was kinda in overdrive about Dr. Cross, so I went somewhere quiet. I apologize."

"Well, you'll have to give me your cell phone number when you come in tomorrow. Won't have to try calling the Harborview for 2 hours."

"Tomorrow, sir?"

"Yeah. I was thinking it would take a few days for New York to send me your jacket, but when I called to make the request, I was transferred to your old chief at the 11th, Jeri Washington. She not only e-mailed me your entire service record, but gave a glowing recommendation. She was sorry to lose you, Callie, but I am happy that you came back to Haven. Come by tomorrow morning, 0800, we'll get you a badge and gun. Welcome home, Detective Delaney."

"Thank you! It's so good to have that title back." She said, as her motel room door opened and Duke slipped inside. "I will see you in the morning, sir. Thank you."

As Callie placed the phone gently in its cradle, Duke sat behind her on the bed, pulling her hair off of her shoulder and placing small kisses along her neckline. "What was that about?"

"It was Dwight Hendrickson, about a job." She said, trying to breathe normally.

Duke let his hands linger around the hem of her T-shirt before he put his them under her shirt and completely around her, letting his fingers entwine and his hands lay flat against her navel. He could feel the ab muscles that she'd obviously been working hard on, underneath that last layer of fat that she was still struggling with. He didn't mind those pounds. He hadn't ever had a problem with them. He'd only hated her weight because it was a result of her depression, which he'd had a hand in.

"What, are you working for the Guard?" He let his thumb circle her navel and he took to giving a grown woman a hickey at the crook of her neck.

"Nope. Haven PD has a new detective."

Duke stopped all movements on her skin."You're a cop?"

Callie turned her head to look at him. "You obviously paid no attention to the alumni letter. I've been a cop since... well, after I got rid of Chuck. Does that matter? Your best friend and the woman you love are both cops."

"You know, if you told me 6 years ago that I'd be surrounded by cops every day, willingly, I would have assumed I was under protection. Today... I don't mind so much." Duke said, before latching onto her ear. He nibbled lightly on the lobe. As her breathing grew more labored, he dragged his left hand up to her breast. He was happy to feel lace, because as his fingers ran along the material he could feel her nipple's quick reaction. His right hand took the harder job, unbuttoning and unzipping her jeans, but it was the far more rewarding task. As his right hand dipped into the now-accessible area, it brushed against lace there and Duke was rewarded with her first moan of the evening.

He was proud of that sound, needy and lustful, and he could feel that pride pressing against his zipper. He let the middle finger of his right hand trace up and down her slit through the lace. His left hand slid the bra up and took to teasing that nipple that had puckered so nicely for him.

"Duke..." She was panting already, his name barely a whisper. This was as good a distraction as he'd ever find in Haven.

Duke pulled his hands away, grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling it off over her head. He immediately unclasped her bra, easy now that he could see it, then he stood. He ignored his discomfort and moved to stand in front of her, grabbing her by her upper arms and pulling her up off the bed. He kissed her deeply, his tongue dipping into her mouth. She let the bra fall off her arms to the floor, then buried her hands in his hair, pulling them closer together. He imagined that he could taste two decades of desire on her tongue, but he could definitely feel that desire in the way the tips of her fingers grasped at his head. Duke hooked both of his thumbs in the waistband of her jeans and pushed them, and the lace hidden beneath them, to pool at their feet. He could smell her now, so strong without that denim barrier that he was amazed he hadn't smelled it before. He broke the kiss and pushed her to the bed.

She reached forward, attempting to grasp his zipper, but Duke slapped her hand away. Her green orbs sparkled in confusion. "What, is that some sort of Buddhist self-deprivation?" She asked.

He leaned down next to her ear and growled, "It's distraction." He leaned down, leaving little kisses down her shoulder. "Besides, the Buddha said, you take away ego and desire, all you are left with is happiness."

She chuckled. "You must be so unhappy with all that ego you carry."

He kissed his way to her navel, his hands sliding down her hips. "You have no idea." He said, pulling her hips closer to his face. "Right now, though, I am focusing on all this desire."

Duke wanted to go slow, drag this out. He wanted to torture her, distract himself with her sounds and smells and the taste of her. He wanted to stop thinking about everything. But if he let himself go on autopilot, he knew that he'd be done too quickly.

He draped her legs over his shoulders, bringing his hands around to her hips, anchoring her securely to the bed. He dragged his tongue down the crease where her leg and hip met, nipping at one thigh, then the other. She bucked a little, moved against his hands, but he kept her in place. He brought his left hand around to open her, running his fingers up and down, softly. She cried out as he dipped his tongue down to circle her vaginal opening. He carefully, and with great precision, licked up her slit. She shuddered as the tip of his tongue brushed her clit. Her hands grasped at his head, then her breasts, and finally the comforter as Duke settled into a seemingly random pattern of licking, sucking and nibbling, not at her bundle of nerves, but all the flesh around it. Her hips bucked when his tongue finally settled on the center and his left hand slid down so that a calloused finger could slip inside her.

"Duke." She panted.

He didn't stop, adding a second finger and pumping them in time with his tongue. _*What?*_ He thought at her, as she squirmed.

"Please. I wanna taste you."

Duke was glad he was a man of great physical and mental control, a lesser man probably would've cum in his pants by that point. He pulled back and licked his fingers, before wiping his chin with the back of his right hand. He sat up and grabbed his denim button-up shirt off and his white tee, pulling them over his head. She quickly darted forward, her hands cascading over his defined abs as she caught his bottom lip in her mouth and sucked gently. He wondered, momentarily, how she felt about tasting herself in his mouth. Callie let go of his lip, in response, and licked his tongue. Her hands grabbed the waist of his dark grey jeans, pulling the button and unzipping the fly eagerly. She had been waiting 20 years for it, after all.

Callie pulled his pants down as far as she could with him on his knees on the bed, then she pushed him back. It had been a while since she'd had a dick in her hands, let alone her mouth, but she pulled on the memory of every blowjob she'd ever given, every porn she'd ever watched, every Cosmo article she'd pretended to flip past in the doctor's waiting room. She used her tongue on his frenulum, ran it in lazy lines from base to tip and back, she eased him all into her mouth and down her throat, and when she started to bob her head, sucking with an amount of pressure she was sure was the perfect amount, her right hand mimicked the motion at the base.

Duke watched her work for a few minutes. She was great, he'd even venture to say she was amazing. It wasn't the best blowjob he'd ever gotten, that distinction was still given to the first mouth he ever fucked, at Camp Tuwiowak when he was 14. And Evi had been a beast on their wedding night, but Callie was a respectable 3rd place. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back onto the bed. As he got closer, feeling himself tighten inside, a picture flashed in his mind; Audrey riding him like a pony.

While his body was still reeling from the sudden lack of stimulus, his mind knew exactly what went wrong. He opened his eyes and sat up, watching as the bathroom door shut securely behind Callie. "Damn it, Callie. Everyone thinks about other people when they're fucking. You gonna tell me that you didn't think about me when you were fucking Chuck?"

"Chuck was terrible! I am not terrible. 'A respectable 3rd place', right? I knew this was a bad idea. I'm an idiot. Just leave, Duke."

Duke kicked himself for not securing his thoughts in respect to his top 3 list, but he'd been distracted. That was the whole point. "Callie, come on. Don't-"

"You can't keep your mind off Audrey, so you can go fuck that horrid witch in your hold for all I care. Just get the hell out of here."

He stood up, grabbing his shirts and pulling up his pants. He carefully tucked himself back into his jeans and slowly zipped them up. "Thanks for the distraction, Cal. We'll talk about this more when you've calmed down a bit."

As soon as she heard her motel room door shut, Callie started the water in the shower. She had to clean the smell of Duke Crocker off of her.


	5. Breathless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Trouble sickness makes things difficult for everyone in Haven, Callie has her own problems.

A knock came to her door a half hour later. She looked through the peephole before opening the door to Nathan.

"Hey. I don't have your number yet. Are you feeling okay?"

She most certainly was not feeling okay. "Um... why?"

"There's a sickness, it's going around the Troubled people."

Callie shook her head, plucking a thought of the symptoms out of his head. "No, it doesn't seem to affect the judgement, so I think I'm okay."

"Judgement? Duke?" Callie didn't answer. "Did you sleep with him?"

"Not that it's your business, but no." _*Not all the way.*_

"Is he doing it again, already?"

"What 'it'?"

"That thing where he softens you up with nice words and then, stops paying attention to you."

_*If only.*_ "No, Nate, he's not doing that thing."

"Might not be a mind reader, but I know you. I know you're upset about something, and I know it's because of Duke."

"It's fine. I'm handling it."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I don't need you to protect me from the big, bad smuggler, Nate. I'm a cop, too."

Nathan smiled. "Yeah, Dwight mentioned that Parker and I had a new partner. I didn't know you were with the NYPD."

"Well, obviously, no one read the alumni letter before the reunion. Don't know why they bothered. I was a uni for a long time. More than 10 years. It wasn't until my Trouble gave me supernatural detecting abilities that I got to Detective." She shook her head. "Look, you've got that Trouble sickness to deal with. Do you want me to come with?"

"No. I'll come grab you if I need you."

Callie nodded, then rushed to her purse. "Here's one of my old NYPD business cards. Give it to Dwight next time you see him, and pull the cell number off that for yourself, okay?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Callie's phone rang an hour and a half later. "Delaney."

"Callie, it's Dwight. I'm gonna need you to clock onto the team early. Extreme circumstances. Audrey is busy with the dancing bear Trouble, Nathan is trying to find all of the infected Troubled and I am... doing something that might be ill advised. I had a conflict with Duke about 15 minutes ago, and I need someone to go check on him, make sure he doesn't pull anything stupid."

*Of course.* "Yeah, sure, boss. I'll head down to the Cape Rouge, now." Callie ended the call and grabbed her gun from her suitcase.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

She stepped out of the taxi and walked toward the Cape Rouge. She didn't want to be there. She didn't want to see him. She definitely didn't want to be stepping off the dock back onto his property so soon after... her bad judgement. Callie raised her hand to knock, but dropped it and moved out of view as she heard voices.

"You don't expect me to wear this? Am I a dock-worker?" It sounded like Audrey, but deeper, without any sweetness. Callie felt panic rising in her chest as she realized that the black blob was no longer chained up in the hold.

"If you're getting off this boat, you are wearing that hat, that jacket and those shoes. It's not like you can walk around pretending to be Audrey, anymore." Duke's voice rang in Callie's ear.

"Like I'd want to." Mara responded.

Callie pulled her sidearm and cocked it, before reaching out from her place with her back against the wall next to it and knocked on the door. "Duke!"

"Fuck!" She heard him exclaim under his breath. "Get back. I'll get rid of her."

Callie kept her gun down as Duke walked up to the door. He didn't open it, just looking out at her. "Can I help you, Officer Delaney?" He was being glib, like she knew he used to be with Nathan.

"Don't. Why don't you explain what's going on, Duke?"

"You know, I wish I could. Unfortunately, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you stupid or do you think I am?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

Callie stepped away from the wall and raised her weapon, pointing at his chest through the window. "Why is Mara out of her chains, Duke? What confrontation could you have had with Dwight that would warrant releasing that monster?"

Duke guarded his thoughts, but his face showed his exasperation. "He's..." Duke opened the door, walking out and immediately shutting it behind him. "The CDC doc found the morgue, where Nathan was storing all the sick Troubled. She said she had proof that Burns was murdered, she put the town on quarantine. We took out the phones, so she hasn't been able to call in the tanks, but this is it. It's over. And instead of protecting us, guarding us like the leader of the fucking Guard should, your new boss is blabbing our secrets to her. He's telling her everything. So, this is a time for Mara's expertise."

"Chaos? Mara's expertise is chaos and death."

"Mara's expertise is the Troubles! We can figure out who has the infection Trouble and change it so that we won't be exposed."

"This is you acting on instinct. I get that. But we don't even know whose Trouble it is. You're gonna let that horrid witch out before we even..."

"Mara and I are in the same boat! She's the only one whose interests are aligned with mine."

"You are quoting her, Duke! All you're missing is 'birds of a fucking feather'! She is playing you!"

"She is right! She knew that they'd tell me to go back to the boat. She knew that they'd start rounding up Troubled people, and she knew that they would sell me out. What do you think Dwight is gonna tell the doc about me, huh?"

Callie uncocked her gun and put it in it's holster on her hip. "Duke, you have to fix this. You have to put her back in the hold and trust that Dwight knows what he's do-" She fell to the ground, unconscious, as Mara set down the crowbar she'd brained her with.

"Sorry. She was talking too much. Can we go?"

Duke shook his head, checked her pulse and grabbed Callie's gun off her waist. "Sorry, Cal. This is important."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She woke up as Dwight was loading her into his truck. "Hey. Callie. What happened?" He asked.

"Duke... Mara. He let her... he's taking her... oh, my head."

"Just hold on. I'm taking you to the hospital. First Audrey, now you. I'm gonna run out of detectives."

"Audrey?"

"Yeah. She's sick.

"The Trouble sickness?"

"I'm not sure. I'll ask Nathan when we get to the hospital. Just rest your head, try not to get blood on the upholstery." Dwight said, with a soft smile.

"I'm sorry, Dwight. I tried to rattle him, figure out his plan, but... Duke meditates, he knows how to blank out his brain. I just know... he needs Mara for... something about the... chaos. Troubles, not chaos. Mara knows the Troubles."

"It's not your fault. You did what you could."

There was silence for several moments. "Duke said you outed us to the CDC doc. Tha' true?"

Dwight sighed. "She's on board. She's not turning us in... for now. She's even going to attempt a vaccine of the trouble sickness."

"That's the ill-advised?"

"Yeah. But it's working out for us."

"For now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Callie spent several hours in Haven Medical Center, being carted from MRIs to a bed in the ER, having several concussion tests done. The nurses were distracted. She could hear their thoughts of panic about the Trouble sickness. After an hour of sitting alone on a bed, she slipped out of the E.R. and headed to find Dwight or Nathan, possibly Audrey's room. Anywhere but there.

She walked up the stairs to the third floor, following various images and thoughts to the CDC doc. As she made it to the top of the stairs, she realized that her breath was coming in short. She sat on the top step.

_*Can't breathe.* *No oxygen.* *Gonna die.* *Dying.*_ Thoughts bombarded from around her. Her head started to swim, her heart pounding in her ears, which didn't help the pain at the back of her skull. She stood, determined to find a window or an oxygen tank. As she slowly walked the floor, battling panic to conserve her oxygen, she heard a ruckus down the hall. She made it to doorway of lab 3002 just in time to see Duke bend over and pick up Mara from the floor. A thought of panic hit her from him. Panic at the thought of losing Mara. He stood, Mara unconscious in his arms, and stared at Callie for a moment.

"Where'd you think I'd end up after a head injury?" She whispered, her knees giving out, sending her tumbling to the floor.

_*I'll come back for you.*_ He thought, stepping over her and heading for the stairs.

"Liar." She whispered as her vision narrowed and she passed out.

************************************

Her first thought upon waking up was _*Hate to be right, sometimes.*_ She took a deep breath, just to enjoy the oxygen, then she slowly stood. Dwight was at her side a few moments later, helping her stand. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I didn't... I didn't exert myself like you did."

"Mara had the aether, I had to get it back from her."

"Did you?"

Dwight nodded. "I don't know where she went."

Callie wiped her hands on her jeans. "Duke took her out of here. He... There is something weird and codependent going on between them. I have to find-"

"You don't. We'll find them. Right now, I need to find Charlotte and you need to go get your head wound checked."

"I think I'd like to just go. They checked my head. I'm fine... mostly. I just want to go rest."

"Okay. I expect to see you tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir."

***************************************

Callie's phone went off at about 3 am. "Delaney." Her voice wore her exhaustion.

"Sorry 'bout the hospital. I really wanted to go back for you."

"Duke? Where are you?"

"I'm not telling you that, Cal. You'd tell Nate and Dwight and I can't have that right now."

"She's not gonna help you, Duke."

"Yeah, well... She's my only option, so I'll take my chances."

There was silence between the two of them. "Why are you on the phone with me? You've won. You have Mara, you got her out."

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay, you know? I don't think you have much experience with oxygen deprivation."

"I lived in Alma, Colorado for a few months when I was 25. It's not recreational diving without equipment, but... I'm fine, Duke."

"And your head?"

"My head is not your fault."

"Mara's impatient and violent, but... we needed to leave. You were in the way."

"I don't think that's gonna end. I'm here. I don't plan to stay out of the way."

"You know... I'd say that I don't want you to stay out of the way. I like having you here, and when Mara fixes me, I'd like to make it all up to you. Everything, from the motel room to hospital."

Callie couldn't help a smile. "I'd like that. Assuming Mara doesn't gut you the first chance she has."

"Also assuming I don't release a Trouble that totals the town."

"So, you're still in Haven?"

"Ha, you think you're clever."

She smiled again. "I am clever. Look... do what you have to, Duke. Just come back in one piece."

"Yeah. Don't let Squatch get you killed." Duke said as his goodbye.


	6. Alouette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callie ends up in the dark.

Callie woke up with a horrible headache. Her head was hanging forward, chin on her chest, and she was sitting up. She blinked at the dark room. A thought came to her from behind the chair she was tied to. "Kirk? It's Kirk right?"

There was a movement behind her, as Kirk's thoughts changed from images of aether to * _Alouette, gentille alouette. Alouette, je te plumerai. Je te plumerai la tete. Je te plumerai la tete. Et la tete! Et la tete! Alouette! Alouette! A-a-ah!_ *

"That's smart. I've had a lot of people try to get past the Delaney family curse, but none so clever as you, Kirk. Earworm songs. Didn't, uh, peg you as a lark-killer type."

The song stopped. "What?"

"You must not speak French. That's what the song is about. 'Lark, nice lark, I'll pluck all your feathers off.' It's kinda dark. Why do you want the aether?"

* _If I leave here tomorrow, Would you still remember me? For I must be traveling on now, 'Cause there's too many places I've got to see._ *

"Are you kidding me? Please, not 'Freebird'.

* _But if I stayed here with you, girl, Things just couldn't be the same. 'Cause I'm as free as a bird now, And this bird you cannot change, oh, oh, oh, oh. And this bird you cannot change. And this bird you cannot change. Lrd Knows I can't change._ *

"Anything but 'Freebird', Kirk. Please. Go back to killing innocent birds, please."

"Don't make me gag you."

"Seriously, sing something else. Or knock me out again."

"Are you hungry?"

"Painfully. Hope makes people do stupid things, you know that?"

* _I'm as free as a bird now, And this bird you cannot change!_ * Kirk shouted with his mind, as he walked out the door of whatever shack he had her tied up in.

*****************************************

Callie spent the entire time Kirk was gone attempting to pull her hands from her bonds. She had to hand it to the man, he must've been a damn good deckhand, because those knots didn't move and centimeter. By the time he returned, she had only managed to give herself rope burns.

* _I'm Henry the 8th, I am, I am._ *

"My god, Kirk, this isn't 'Ghost'. Are you actively trying to annoy me?"

* _I got married to the woman next door. She's been married 7 times before._ *

"Please. Please, Kirk, just suck the air out of the room. I will even take huge gasping breaths to make it easier on you."

"Shut up." Kirk said, pulling a bottle of water and a wrapped sandwich out of the brown paper bag he'd brought with him.

"You know, I'm with the Guard, right? I've got the tattoo and everything." She grasped at straws.

"It doesn't matter. Need you out of the way."

"Out of the way of what?"

* _Alouette, gentille alouette._ * He thought as he put the sandwich up to her mouth. She took a bite, happy to get something into her belly, even if it was only a peanut butter and jelly.

***********

Kirk stopped by several times throughout the day, eventually laying the chair back and giving her a pillow so that she could go to sleep, all while singing 'Hotel California' in his head. He showed up the next morning, to right the chair and feed her again. A few minutes after he walked out of the shed, she heard the unmistakable sounds of a struggle.

"Hey! Someone! Is there someone out there?!" She shouted, thankful that Kirk had never gotten around to actually putting a gag in her mouth.

The door to the shed opened and Duke walked in, gun raised. "Callie? What are you doing here?"

"I'm taking a class on bondage, what do you think? Kirk's had me here since yesterday. Is that my gun?"

Duke looked down at the pistol, before uncocking it and tucking it into the back of his pants. "Have you seen Mara?"

"No. I've just seen Kirk and that wall. You lost Mara?" Callie asked, as Duke bent down to untie her.

"No. Kirk took her and the aether, I found his button at the lake house. I tried to get him to tell me where she was, but he bled on me. He's dead and now I'm no closer to finding her. If she's not here with you, I have no clue where he would have taken her."

She pulled her hands out of the ropes and looked down at her wrists. "She was never here. I don't know what to tell you."

"I know this is asking a lot, but I... I can't ask Nate or Audrey for help on this one, can you-"

"Of course, Duke. I can help you. But I need an explanation first, and my gun, second."

Duke pulled her gun out of his waistband and handed it to her, before helping her stand. "What explanation?"

"Explain you and Mara."

"You know, Mara actually cares, okay? She cares about fixing me. Nathan and Audrey, they only care about each other. I'd really like to find her, now. So, Detective... help me detect."

She didn't press it, even though she knew he'd had sex with her. "Okay, fine. Did Kirk have any close friends? Anybody who would know where the bodies are buried? Or victims stashed, as it were."

"What, you didn't get in his head during the 30+ hours he had you?"

"No. Barely at all, actually. He was clever, kept me out. Nothing controlled like you do. He just sang in his head. All I got out of him was images of aether and thoughts of hope. Assume that adds up to Mara."

"He probably wanted to have Mara use the aether to alter his Trouble. Come on. His right hand was a guy named Bennie. Let's go."

"It doesn't explain why he took me, though." Callie said, following Duke out of the shed and to his truck. "I got him to admit that I was in the way, but he started in with 'Alouette' again, after."

"Maybe Bennie can shed some light." Duke said, pulling away from the docks.

**************************

Callie followed Duke out to the Airstream trailer in the middle of nowhere. As he knocked, she stood awkwardly behind him. She didn't have a badge, she wasn't really on HPD business, anyway. The cop in her knew she shouldn't be with Duke. He was a criminal and he had just killed a man. Her father in her head and the maze tattoo on her shoulder told her that she should have called Dwight, or at least Vince, as soon as she got out of the shed on the docks. She knew the Guard must be looking for him, since he absconded with Mara.

"Hey, Bennie." Duke called.

Kirk's right hand was a big bald man who seemed more Hell's Angels than Guard. He seemed unhappy to see Duke on his doorstep. "What do you want, Crocker?"

"Listen, I need to know where Kirk might have taken a- a friend of ours." Duke stumbled over the wording, deciding against saying 'a kidnap victim'. "I know you know."

"No idea." Bennie countered.

"Hey, come on, Bennie. Kirk sneezes, you hand him a Kleenex. And besides, you owe me."

"Look, I don't know where Kirk is." He said, before the sound of a gun cocking grabbed their attention.

"I don't have time for this."

"So, get lost." Bennie said, pushing Duke. Duke grabbed him by his shirt as he started to walk into the Airstream.

"What the hell is going on with your eyes, man?" Bennie asked, fear penetrating his voice.

"What are you talking about, my eyes?" Duke asked, letting go of Bennie as Callie rushed around him to see what was happening.

"They're all silver."

"Your Trouble, Duke." Callie said, confirming that his eyes were silver.

"Get the hell out of here, man." Bennie said, shutting the door and locking it.

"No. They weren't even bleeding." Duke whispered, to himself. Duke ran to the door, trying to open it. "Bennie. Bennie, listen to me. Are you Troubled? I need you to be straight with me."

"Hell no. Did you just do something to me, Crocker?"

"No!"

"You did something to me."

"I didn't do anything!"

Callie watched as the two goons inside the trailer started to cough. She recognized the thoughts of panic that she'd heard in the hospital. "They can't breathe." She said, tapping Duke's shoulder.

"They're suffocating. How the hell did you do that?"

"I didn't touch them." Duke defended.

"You touched me. You gave me Kirk's Trouble."

"That's not possible."

"Leave me alone, Crocker."

"Bennie, open the door. Bennie!"

"Bennie!" Callie said, pushing Duke away from the door.

"They're dying!"

"Bennie, you have to open this door. You need to let your friends out, or they will die. That won't be Duke's fault. That will be yours, okay?"

"I don't want Crocker anywhere near 'em."

"Duke is gonna go get in his truck, then you're gonna open this door, okay?" Duke nodded and stalked off.

Bennie cautiously opened the door, helping his friends out of the mobile home, then shutting the door. "Okay, Benny. Now, it's time to turn you off. The Troubles, they're based on emotion. You are overwhelmed, panicking. I can hear that fear buzzing in your head. I need you to breathe. I need you to concentrate on that fear, okay, and I need you to get rid of it. It started because you were afraid of Duke, then it got worse when your friends couldn't breathe. They are breathing, Duke isn't going to hurt you. We know that you don't know anything. So, nothing to be scared of."

Callie could hear him relax, so she opened the door and walked in, taking a deep breath. "See? Controllable. Look at you, Bennie. You just turned off your Trouble, haven't even had it 10 minutes."

"Thank you." Bennie said, gratefully.

"Look, I can't stay. I have to try to keep Duke from killing anyone else on his quest to recover Mara. I want you to get in contact with Dwight Hendrickson. Leader of the Guard. It's his job to help you."

Bennie nodded and Callie patted his arm before running, back to the truck.

"How the hell did I... how did that happen?"

"I don't know. Maybe this is the next stage of whatever happened to you before when Audrey re-Troubled you."

"Great. Just... great." Duke said, before punching his steering wheel.

"Where to now?"

"I... uh. I'm gonna head back to the Gull. I'm needing a drink."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Sure."


	7. That face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but I wanted to get what I have out now that I've started writing again.
> 
> Duke finally sees Callie for who she really is and how she really feels.

Callie stayed inside the restaurant as Nathan spoke to Duke. She didn't want to deal with him. She didn't want to have to excuse the fact that she'd dropped everything to help Duke. She followed Duke up the stairs, after Nathan left the Gull. "I'm working on it." He said. Callie couldn't hear the other end of the call, but she could hear Duke's thoughts. She knew it was Mara. She knew Duke had been played and he was just figuring it out. "I'm assuming the timing of your call isn't a coincidence." "What the hell kind of game are you playing, Mara?" She sat down on the middle step of the stairway. "You got Kirk to steal the aether for you." * _Working for her the whole time.*_ "I'm not afraid of toes." "So, whose is it? Hmm? Whose toe am I holding?" "You're sick, you know that?" "Shut up. Shut UP!" Callie flinched. "What?" She turned around as Duke's thoughts turned to panic. "What did you do to me? I touched someone today, and I gave them a trouble." Callie stood and slowly made her way up the remaining stairs. Duke's eyes were black and black tears were running down the crook of his nose on both sides. "What the hell did you do to me?" She watched as his tears flew off of his face and watched as he grasped them and the black spot disappeared into his palm.

Callie walked up to Duke, looking up at the onyx color in his eyes in wonder. "It's okay. Deep breath." She whispered. As his eyes turned back to their normal deep whiskey color, she smiled sweetly. Then, she slapped him.

"I warned you. I put it into simple words of English. Said you were being played. You ignored me. God, such an idiot." She stepped back, shaking her head. "I know why Kirk grabbed me, now, though."

"Why?" Duke's voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Because somehow Mara knew that there is one person in this town who cares about you more than anyone else. One person who cares about you more than she even cares about herself; who would go against her better judgement to help you out. Someone who would have helped bring that aether to you if she thought it might actually help you. Mara needed to make sure that you couldn't get a hold of me if you called."

"So that I'd put all my faith in her."

"So that you'd fuck her. So that you'd trust her. She needed you to have big emotions, right? Big emotions for her."

"Cal-"

"You got played and you didn't think twice. I warned you." Callie closed her eyes and breathed a heavy sigh. "I've spent 2 decades trying to get you to open up, wishing you could care about me, hoping for some big emotions from you, but I guess since I don't have that face... I get nothing."

She opened her eyes and started for the stairs. _*You really would've brought me the aether?*_

"I'd've brought you the Hope Diamond if I thought it would fix you."

"How could I have-"

"You didn't miss it. You purposely ignored it. You made yourself think I just had a crush on you or I just felt that you owed it to me after you caused my break-up with Nate, but I've always just been madly in love with you." She turned halfway down the stairs. "I only came home for the reunion because I heard you were back. I would've moved back then, if I hadn't heard you thinking about Audrey. That face... somethin' damn special about it."

As she started back down the stairs, Duke closed the distance between them and grabbed her hand. "Wait!"

Callie looked down at her hand, then shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere, Duke. I just need a drink. Think you probably need one, too."

Duke let her hand go and walked back up to Audrey's balcony. When she came back several minutes later, she was carrying two rocks glasses that were severely over-poured.

"I might have to fire somebody, if they're pouring drinks like that."

"I told 'em it was for you, and that you'd had a really bad day. She noticed my wrists, I told her my day wasn't much better, so she poured mine tall, too. Bourbon, rocks. Enjoy."

They stood beside each other, drinking and staring out at the water. "I should've found you, after I heard you moved to Bangor."

"By the time you made it back to Maine, I was already dating Chuck."

"I thought you did that on purpose, you know? When Chuck started telling me that he was dating this chick, 'she's from Haven, too. Do ya know 'er?' I thought you were dating him because I worked with him. The look on your face when I showed up to your engagement party, though, that said it all."

"When you guys started talking business, right there at the party, that was my wake-up call. That's when I decided to leave him and Bangor, cut my ties to the criminal underground. Turning him in was the catalyst for my law enforcement career."

Duke turned to her. "You turned him in?"

"Yeah. Compiled a list of his known dealings, known associates, minus you of course. Dates, times, quantities. Sent it all to the police in Bangor. They sent it on to Customs, who pulled me in for questioning. They were impressed. Told me to get a degree and come join the Alphabet boys. I took the advice, but I felt NYPD were more my letters."

"Wow. No wonder he got sent up for so long. Between your info and mine, he didn't have a chance."

"You turned him in, too?"

"He was an idiot, a terrible fence. He was bound to get sent up, eventually. I couldn't let him ruin your life when he did."

"So, you... you gave up your fence, losing all that revenue, for me?"

"Found another fence. Besides, he didn't deserve you." Duke said, with a shrug.

"I don't understand you. I know people. I know the human condition. You, Duke Crocker, never make sense."

"Take that as a compliment."

"I'm sure it's difficult not to. You know what, though? Mara's right. You have abandonment issues. I think that's why you wouldn't ever give me the time of day. I think, you never wanted me to break up with Nathan. I think you wanted me to keep my attentions split, because if I was never really yours, I could never really abandon you. Must've really thrown you to hear that I broke it off with Nathan, that I wanted you. That's why you pushed me away, not because you didn't care, but because you didn't want to invest yourself and then have me walk away."

Callie jumped up on the banister, facing Duke. "I never walked away, Duke. I just stopped chasing after you."

Duke stepped in front of her, situating himself between her legs. "I was an idiot."

"You  _are_ an idiot." She said, setting her glass next to her. "I love you, anyway."

"You know, I think that's the first time I've heard you say that and... actually heard you say that."

She smiled, dragging her right hand across his cheek. "I'll say it, as many times as you need to hear it."

"Might need to hear it a lot. I'm kinda needy."

"Well, I'm gonna try not to overdo it." She said, pulling his head in for a soft kiss.

"You know, the best thing about you?" Duke whispered against her lips.

"I will always forgive you just as easily as I forgive you today. After 25 years, I can't foresee any day that I don't forgive you. I love you, Duke Crocker, 'til the very end of both of our lives."

"The best thing about you..." He wrapped his arms around her to hold her close to him. "... is that you know what I'm thinking, even when I don't."

"My Trouble's not all bad, babe."

"It's not just the Trouble. It's you. Even though, I keep you on your toes, you still know me better than anyone else."

"Even if you weren't literally in my head, even when I was off in New York, pretending I didn't care about you, I still couldn't keep you out of my head."

Callie's jacket pocket began to vibrate, so Duke stepped back and took a drink while she answered her phone. "Delaney."

"Miss Delaney, it's Dave Teagues. Dwight gave me your number. I was wondering if you might come down to the Herald offices. Vincent and I think we need a puff piece to get people's minds off of everything, and a hero coming home is the perfect one."

"Well, I'm not a hero, Dave, but if you want, I can come talk to you."

"That'd be great, thanks. Any time today would be perfect."

She looked at Duke as she put the phone back into her jacket. "I don't have to go."

"It's fine. I've got brooding to do and that's a lot harder when you're around."

She kissed his cheek and hopped down off the railing. "I'll be back in a few hours. Okay?"

"Okay. I'm not goin' anywhere."

"I'll hold you to that, Crocker." She headed down the stairs and waved to him as she left the Gull.

**Author's Note:**

> Please review. This is my first Haven fic, my first fic on this site, so please be kind.


End file.
